Pakistan toured Sri Lanka in 1986 for a Test and ODI series. The 3-match Test series started with a match in Kandy. This match is registered in the record books for various reasons. Pakistan defeated the hosts by a comfortable margin of an innings and 20 runs but what keeps this match fresh in the memories of cricket fans is the heated exchange between Arjuna Ranatunga and Pakistan players.
First Innings
Sri Lanka won the toss and as any team would do in any subcontinent conditions, they chose to bat first. But Pakistan’s bowling unit was too hot to handle for the Sri Lankan batters. The visitors rattled the Sri Lankans in the first innings and bowled them out for just 109 runs. Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and Tauseef Ahmed picked up three wickets each to restrict the opposition to a low total.
In Sri Lanka’s reply, the visitors posted 230 runs on the board taking a massive lead. Mudassar Nazar and Saleem Malik scored valuable half-centuries to ensure a big lead for Pakistan. They did not get much assistance from any other batters otherwise the lead could have extended.
Second Innings
Things got interesting in the second innings. Sri Lanka needed something extraordinary to make a comeback in the contest. First, they had to overcome the lead and then post a challenging target to put the opposition in a fix. However, the Sri Lankans could not improve much upon their batting performance and once again crumbled under pressure. Pakistan managed to wrap up the second innings with only 101 runs in Sri Lanka’s account.
A controversy erupted when Ramiz Raja appealed against Arjuna Ranatunga for a bat-pad dismissal but the umpire did not decide in Raja’s favour. This resulted in some heated exchanges between Pakistan players and Ranatunga. The Sri Lankan walked off alleging abuses were hurled at him by the opposition. Captain Imran Khan also did not mince his words and expressed his disappointment over the denied appeal against Ranatunga. Pakistan eventually won the match but not without a tinge of controversy.
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